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Hawks seek 17th straight win Wednesday vs. Nets
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 1/28/2015  at  8:12:00 AM
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BROOKLYN NETS (18-26)

at ATLANTA HAWKS (37-8)

Tip-off: Wednesday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Atlanta -14, Total: 194

The Hawks look to continue their dominance of the Eastern Conference when they host the Nets on Wednesday night.

The Nets haven’t been able to find much of an identity over the past few years despite having plenty of talented players, and they come into this tough matchup with defeats in 10 of their past 12 contests SU (3-9 ATS). Over that period, their offense has reached 100 points a mere two times, as they are averaging 89.8 PPG, and have been even worse in their past two games, hitting fewer than 39% FG each time. Brooklyn took on the Jazz in the third of four consecutive road games on Saturday and was run out of the arena in a 108-73 blowout as 4-point underdogs. The club let Utah make 42-of-79 shots (53% FG), and was outrebounded 42-29 in the embarrassing effort. Everything has finally clicked for the Hawks and they have had no issues getting win after win as they ride a 16-game streak without a SU loss (14-1-1 ATS). They’ve defeated their opposition by an average of 12.1 PPG over the streak and were able to score 105+ points in 11 of the victories. They were unable to cover the big 17.5-point spread at home against Minnesota on Sunday night, as they sent the Timberwolves packing with a 112-100 loss. Both teams were very efficient in the high-scoring matchup, but Atlanta was in its own league with 45-of-80 shots going in (56% FG) as each starter scored at least 13 points. The road hasn’t been a great place for the Nets this season, as they are 10-12 SU (12-10 ATS) when away from home, and the Hawks are an amazing 20-3 SU (15-8 ATS) at Philips Arena. These two clubs met just once so far this season, and it wasn’t much of a game, as Atlanta built up a big 52-31 halftime lead and finished up with a 98-75 victory as a pick 'em on the road. Neither team was particularly impressive on the offensive end, but the Hawks were able to force 17 turnovers and hold Brooklyn to a meager 37.5% shooting. Some interesting trends to keep an eye on in this one include that Atlanta is just 1-12 ATS (8%) in home games off a no-cover where the team won SU as a favorite over the past three seasons, but it has also gone 17-3 ATS (85%) after two straight games with 10 or less offensive rebounds this season. The Nets have dealt with some tough injuries this season, and they will be without PG Deron Williams (ribs) for this one, and SF Mirza Teletovic (illness) will miss the rest of the season for the team. PG Shelvin Mack (calf) is questionable for the host club.

Can the Suns win comfortably against a quality opponent on Wednesday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 56% ATS record (117-93-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a huge 60% ATS (56-37) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Gary, who is a sizzling 68% ATS (13-6) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 58% ATS (38-28) this season. StatFox Scott is also red-hot with a 68% ATS (17-8) mark in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (36-29) for the season. StatFox Brian is 59% ATS (26-18) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 55% ATS (36-30) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Zach is 58% ATS (11-8) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2.

Brooklyn won’t impress too many people with its offense, as it are scoring 95.0 PPG (25th in league) and making 44.4% of its field goal attempts (20th in NBA). On the other side of the ball, the defense has been uninspiring as it us giving up 98.7 PPG on 45.1% shooting. SG Joe Johnson (15.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG) has seen his production drop off in a big way recently and has scored in single-digits in four of his past six contests. He only took eight shots when facing the Hawks earlier this season, making four as he scored 12 points to go with six rebounds in the loss. PG Jarrett Jack (11.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 1.2 SPG) has proven to be a valuable asset with Deron Williams out, and Jack has scored at least 16 points with 7+ assists in four of his past five performances. He played just 19 minutes when these clubs last met, netting six points with three assists. C Brook Lopez (14.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 BPG) has been a non-factor in the past two games, scoring a total of 10 points, as he’s made just 3-of-12 shots and added 3.0 RPG. His 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting and seven rebounds against Atlanta earlier this season was the team’s lone bright spot in an otherwise poor performance.

Atlanta has upped its offensive game during this breakout campaign and is putting up 103.4 PPG (6th in league) behind 47.3% shooting from the floor (4th in NBA). The Hawks are doing even better on the other side of the ball and have allowed a mere 96.2 PPG (2nd in league) as the opposition is hitting 43.6% of their shots (5th in NBA). PG Jeff Teague (17.1 PPG, 7.5 APG, 1.8 SPG) has not done well on the offensive end over the past five games, shooting 39% from the floor, but still managed double-digit points in each of the outings. The Nets didn’t give him much trouble in Atlanta’s win this season, as he was 5-for-9 from the floor with 15 points, and added five rebounds and four assists. PF Paul Millsap (17.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG) is coming off a dominating effort (20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals) in the victory over Minnesota and was solid against Brooklyn back in December with 17 points and nine rebounds. C Al Horford (15.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.4 BPG) has made 69% of his shots in the past five games and has at least one steal and one block in each of the past four contests. Unlike his fellow teammates, Horford did not fare well in the last meeting with the Nets, and had just seven points (3-for-10) with five rebounds.


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